Trevor Bayne was expected to participate in the test prior to being hospitalized last week at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for tests to diagnose lingering symptoms originally thought to be related to an insect bite. Greg Biffle will be testing for Ford in Bayne’s place.

Busch is looking forward to the additional seat time on the 2.5-mile track. Last summer he posted his first top 10 at IMS since 2004.

“We’ve struggled at Indy over the years,” Busch said. ”With that diamond–surface, whatever they’ve done to that surface to change it around, I’ve struggled with. I’m looking forward for a competitive tire that shows durability.

“For our team, we need to go up there and help Goodyear pick the best tire that we possibly can so that it’s a good show, a durable tire, and we can all be proud for what we did for the tire test. At the same time, I hope to make a lot of laps. I hope that I’m worn out after those two days of just making laps and setups that will help us.”